tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post1951580451742473984..comments2023-10-19T04:51:53.516-05:00Comments on The Legal Dollar: What Do College Students Really Want - And Can They Get It From Law School? - Part 2Managing Partnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05130017520583425490noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post-1826339157410747622011-09-24T20:29:34.362-05:002011-09-24T20:29:34.362-05:00I do not agree that an engineering career is neces...I do not agree that an engineering career is necessarily a good alternative to a law career. For one thing, the kinds of abilities required of engineers are very different from those of lawyers. Also, the engineer's starting salary of $60K-$70K that you cited may or may not be accurate (it's actually about twice what I made) but it would apply only to those who actually get jobs. The big myth about engineers is that it is easy for them to find work and that their work is stable. I doubt the profession has ever enjoyed 90% employment placement and it certainly does not in this economy. Moreover, there is reason to believe that engineering schools put out bogus statistics about their graduates' success similar to the way that law schools do. Note the following article:<br /><br />http://www.aea.org/documents/activism/aea_fights_shortage_propaganda.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post-41821498941256818142011-08-08T15:36:13.844-05:002011-08-08T15:36:13.844-05:003:01 - I have to agree completely that law is not ...3:01 - I have to agree completely that law is not a stable profession. (I am going to talk about that a little more when we talk about Job Security as one of the 4 factors). Your wisdom has been hard-earned and I wish we could bottle it and give it to potential law students. Or just about any college student, really.Managing Partnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130017520583425490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post-13625017884223696412011-08-08T15:01:31.312-05:002011-08-08T15:01:31.312-05:00Yes. To add to my above point, you might "wi...Yes. To add to my above point, you might "win the battle" by getting a biglaw job, but that doesn't mean you've won the war. Don't go out and buy a BMW and start spending all your money on stupid shit if you get a good job. Law is one of the most unstable professions known to man. My "career" essentially lasted 3 years. Unfortunately, my debt might last until I'm in the grave. My feeling is after seeing all that I've seen over nearly 10 years is that I will only feel comfortable when I'm practicing solo or with a small group of close colleagues. At least I will know when I wake up every morning that I have a job. I might not be profitable, but I won't have some jackass partner giving me a pink slip because his profits for the year are down and therefore needs to cut some heads to continue his lavish lifestyle. That's right - partners don't give a shit about you. My last firm (contract position), they were cutting heads all over the place, but then proceeded to spend some 2 million dollars on upgrading the offices, etc. As an associate, you're just a pawn, a means to an end. Lesson learned. That's not to say I won't work at a firm - I can't afford to go out on my own right now - but I will NEVER look at a job the same way again. I will always have in the back of my mind that this is a temporary position. Indeed, I have already started multiple small businesses to get me through the periods of underemployment and which will add to my bottom line when I finally go out on my own.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post-54546903173545935552011-08-08T14:33:27.341-05:002011-08-08T14:33:27.341-05:0012:33 - Ouch. That's a terrible experience. ...12:33 - Ouch. That's a terrible experience. You are also right that it is even more expensive to go to law school now than it was then. Also, your experience certainly shows that even someone who gets into BIGLAW can still have the rug yanked out from under them by getting the boot in 3 years. You have my sympathies and best wishes.Managing Partnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130017520583425490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3521318064826848712.post-43490248272520792011-08-08T12:33:32.878-05:002011-08-08T12:33:32.878-05:00Even IP is pretty much dead at this point. I have...Even IP is pretty much dead at this point. I have multiple science degrees and aside from working in Biglaw for 3 years, I have been doing contract work for the past 6 years in order to make ends meet. Now even the contract jobs are drying up due to off-shoring to India, allowing more foreigners into LLM programs and the poor economy in general. I know many individuals who have 8+ years of experience in patent law that are either out entirely or trying to scrape by on their own as a solo. I've come to the conclusion that the only way I will ever practice in IP again is if I go out on my own. But to do that, I have to pay down my huge debt. It's one thing if you're a doctor and opening your own practice, but it's an entirely different thing when you're $200,000+ in debt and then have to open your own law practice since you can't find a job. Having gone through the process, there is no way I'm going to subject myself to more and more debt to open up my own practice. That is a risk I'm unwilling to take at this point. There's a lot of people in a similar situation, in many cases much worse than myself, since I graduated law school about 10 years ago when tuition was somewhat cheaper. The people graduating from law school today are 100% screwed. I hope you have rich parents. Moreover, I hope you enjoy living in your parent's basement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com